Revisiting Education for Sustainable Development: Methods to Inspire Secondary School Students toward Renewable Energy

Abstract

Education is key to advancing a society that can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One SDG is shifting energy consumption from fossil fuels to renewable energy (RE) sources to reduce environmental damage and prevent global warming. Awareness must be instilled among citizens at an early age (as early as secondary school) to motivate students to pursue higher education and careers in RE concepts and technologies. To analyze the current trends of existing education in RE concepts and education for sustainable development (ESD) in secondary schools, this study employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses method to systematically review 25 articles that were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The articles highlighted the availability of RE-targeted ESD in secondary schools and their impacts on students and society. However, they revealed a significant lack of curricula on RE concepts and ESD in secondary schools, reflecting the low knowledge, interest in, and awareness of RE and its concepts among students. The articles revealed positive impacts of introducing certain RE-targeted ESD courses/activities on students. Thus, we propose adopting new methods that include collaborative multidisciplinary and informal and non-formal and other factors as a means toward arousing secondary students’ interest in RE education to achieve the SDGs.